Fallout: Steel Exodus
by Nakran11
Summary: 10 years after the Institute's destruction at the hands of the Brotherhood of Steel, Initiate Gareth Elwin embarks on a mission to pave the way for the most ambitious military operation in post-war history: the Steel Exodus.
1. Chapter I

Ad Victoriam. 'To victory'. These were the words that every member lived by. A simple phrase that demonstrated a tenacity that only the brothers and sisters of steel could follow. A simple phrase that, from the moment of recruitment, had been imprinted into each initiate's mind, like a brand on the skull. Down in the old subways of the Capital Wasteland, these were the only words that Initiate Elwin needed.

The four men slowly moved forward, three initiates and a knight, rifles to shoulder and combat lights on.

"Slow and steady, keep those guns up and your eyes ahead. If you hear anything, use hand gestures."

The three initiates nodded at Knight Galford's orders and continued to pay extra attention to their surroundings. The concrete tunnels were completely black save for the pale green bioluminescence of mutated fungi growing on the edges of the rusted tracks. Initiate Elwin's heart was pounding. All he could hear was the wind and the hydraulics of Knight Galford's power armour.

Elwin looked to the other initiates, Benny on the left hand side of Galford and Edwards bringing up the rear. Despite the three of them being initiates, they hardly knew each other. Benny was new and had only been a member for the better part of two weeks whereas Edwards had signed on from the Commonwealth, along with a horde of other new recruits. The fall of the Institute had put the Brotherhood in good standing with the Commonwealth, and due to the Brotherhood's expansion since, new blood was needed to fill many boots, resulting in a recruitment station being set up in Diamond City. A new group of recruits came into the Citadel every month.

He looked at Galford. The man had been a training instructor at the Citadel since Maxson's operation north and had adopted a strong 'keep at it until it's right' attitude. To many an initiate's dismay, this fell true to physical training too. Elwin caught the eye of the Knight.

Galford stopped and looked forward from the initiate, nodding ahead.

"Elwin, focus yourself and take point," he said in strict yet unoppressive tone through his helmet, "there's a platform ahead, which means we're close."

"Yes, sir" acknowledged Initiate Elwin, coughing shakily before moving slightly ahead of the group. He could feel Galford's gaze at his back as he continued moving his rifle around ahead, catching glimpses of skeletons, now centuries old still in their pre-war clothing. The tunnel at this section was caved in on one side, a capsized train stuck inside the rubble, forcing the team to bunch up on the right hand side.

Elwin stopped at the edge of the platform, holding up a fist to the left of his head signalling the rest of the team to hold position. The initiate took a breath before casting his light across the platform, the shadows moving in tandem with the point of his laser rifle. Elwin's breath caught as his rifle stopped, trained on a crouching figure.

It was staring at him with pale, glazed yellow eyes. A dumbfounded look upon its rotted, yellowed and disfigured face. Its clothes were old and torn. It stood, an inhuman and contorted groan. A feral ghoul.

"Remember...centre mass for kill shots, legs to slow them down…"

The ghoul launched itself forward, crying out in an almost zombie-like fashion. Red beams of fiery energy shot out from Elwin's rifle, two hitting the wall behind the ghoul and another hitting its leg. The ghoul flew forwards, casting its arms out towards the ground before sliding off the platform and onto the track. Elwin dropped to one knee and fired another three beams of energy into the withered body before it could get back up, searing the skin in several places and producing a putrid stench.

Elwin continued staring at the corpse for several seconds. The sudden silence was unnerving. Footsteps came up behind him and a hand planted on his shoulder.

"You really need to work on that aim, chum" said Benny, stepping past him to look at the corpse, "if you'd missed any more than you did then you'd be-" a shrill horde of inhuman cries emanated from further into the platform, cutting him off.

Knight Galford marched forward and pulled Elwin onto the platform before checking over his rifle.

"Shut your mouth and prepare yourself, initiate. Rule 1 with ghouls: there's always more."

Elwin loaded a fresh fusion cell into his rifle before aiming towards a set of double doors at the back of the platform, while Benny and Edwards took the side doors with Galford ready to support. A clammering of bare feet echoed throughout the platform, accompanied with grotesque snarls and cries, growing gradually louder. The double doors broke off their hinges as a throng of ghouls clambered over debris towards the patrol, scattered beams of red light ripping apart their bodies within an instant, leaving a pile of singed corpses.

"Sir, should we check the other rooms?" asked Edwards, pointing his rifle towards the still shut doors at the sides of the platform.

"No, initiate. We've spent too much time in this section as it is. We need to get to the target as soon as possible." replied Galford, moving with heavy steps to the double doors and checking over the corpses. Satisfied, the knight beckoned over the rest of the team.

"Alright, there's no more time to fuck around. I'll take point, the rest of you keep up and watch my six, got it?"

The three initiates glanced at each other before nodding or mumbling in acknowledgment.

The initiates swiftly followed the hulking suit of grey steel through numerous dusty and dilapidated corridors, passing through at one point a large room full of old inactive pre-war terminals and a scorched tile floor riddled with blackened bones. Galford led them down several sets of stairs before emerging before a giant door.

Elwin looked it over with astonishment, he'd never seen anything of the sort. It was large and round, with teeth like a great cog. The entire thing was set in a sheet of bedrock and made of dark and rusted steel. The door had a yellow circle surrounding a small amount of numbering in the centre which read '104'. A yellow panel stood beside a set metal stairs that led up to a walkway to the base of the door.

"A vault, sir? How are we going to get it open?" asked Initiate Elwin, staring up the giant steel door.

"With a gift left for us by the Sentinel…" said Galford, producing a small computer on a leather vambrace and walking up to the panel. With heavy steel hands, the knight extended a cord from the back of the Pip-Boy and plugged it into the panel. After several seconds, the casing that protected a red square button on the panel lifted up. Galford looked at his team.

"This vault hasn't been opened for over two hundred years. There's no telling what is inside now, so keep your guard up when we're in there." Galford took a breath and looked up at the door, then back to the panel.

"Here we go…" he whispered, pressing the button slowly.

Immediately, yellow warning lights flared up around the room and a monotonous and robotic female voice sounded over a hidden speaker.

" _Welcome to Vault 104 - Government R &D Storage Facility. Please avoid using any firearms during your visit. Thank you."_

The door was pulled backwards with the screech of steel on steel before rolling to the side. A walkway extended from inside to meet the one on the opposite side. The squad traversed the walkway, scouring the well lit vault entrance. There was no sign of damage in the slightest, but there was no one to greet them either. The walls of the vault were grey-blue in colour and were clean, unlike the rest of the world. There were several large computers flanking the walkway, all pristine with a white finish.

There was only one way forward. A single, central corridor that opened out into another room. Elwin looked across the ceiling with a curious expression. There were no turrets. This was the front door and there was no defense at all? Not even a protectron?

Galford turned to his men, "Alright, I don't like this at all, so let's get this done quickly. I'll continue on point, just make sure you back me up with whatever is ahead and don't get too starry eyed at the fact that this place is so clean and smooth. I'd rather not die because one of you was admiring a kitchen counter, understood? Good." Galford turned back around and started marching off down the corridor before any of the initiates could respond. Elwin and the rest quickly caught up as the knight led them out into the next room.

The entire vault seemed to be a warehouse. The ceiling extended up to about forty feet high and the length of the entire area was at least a hundred metres. There was row upon row of shelves, filled with all manner of different types of equipment. Ammunition, energy weapons, ballistic weapons, grenades of just about every type, sections of various models of power armour. It was simply a treasure trove of military technology.

Galford removed his helmet, revealing a scarred and rough, bearded face with short brown hair, and started laughing.

"The scribes will have a god damned field day in this place! Look at all of the gear they've got down here!"

Elwin shifted uncomfortably, this had been too easy, surely it was too good to be true.

"Yeah, like we've stumbled into a dragon's lair eh?" shouted Benny behind him.

"But we've yet to find the dragon…" muttered Elwin, keeping his rifle to shoulder and moving between the lines of shelves towards the other side of the room.

Something wasn't right, there was no way it would be so easy. He looked behind him and saw his squadmates rooting through the different boxes of technological pre-war goodies, relishing in their find. Elwin turned back around and pressed on, keeping his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. The initiate eventually found himself on the other side of the room, a single sliding door lay in the centre of the back wall. Elwin approached, readied his laser rifle and turned the switch. The door split half way and opened vertically with a hiss, revealing a single open room with what looked like a nest in the centre.

Edging forward to the nest, he spied several round objects in the nest. The initiate quickly approached them. They were eggs, but not the sort that he would usually find by the swampland near his brother's house, no they were not mirelurk eggs. They were too smooth, dotted around the middle and larger too.

He span around as a scream and several bursts of laser fire sounded in the room behind him.

"Deathclaw! Focus fire on its belly!"

Elwin sprinted back into the storage room to find the other two initiates and Knight Galford facing off with a hulking, horned bipedal reptile that stood about ten feet tall with long humanoid arms, each ending with curved razor sharp claws. Elwin took several shots before running closer. He stopped to fire another burst as the deathclaw grabbed a screaming Initiate Edwards and hacked him into two before throwing the upper half of him towards the shelves of pre-war tech, spraying blood all across the previously clean floor. The deathclaw then turned to Benny who was firing his laser rifle at it like a madman, the energy simply glancing off its highly resilient hide. Elwin crouched and fired several aimed shots at the deathclaw's face, turning its attention to him. It stood to its full height and roared, shaking the entirety of the vault with its sheer power before dropping to all fours and running towards him, leaving long claw marks in the steel floor.

Reloading a fresh fusion cell into his rifle, Elwin stood his ground as the deathclaw swiftly approached, firing his laser rifle at its face, hoping to catch one of its eyes. Suddenly, a small nuclear blast erupted from the deathclaw's side with immense light and searing heat. Elwin saw Knight Galford drop a Fat-Man to the ground before picking up what looked like a gatling laser. The deathclaw turned as the knight charged into the deathclaw with his power armour, getting underneath the wounded reptile with his gatling laser and unleashing red fire into his stomach at point blank range. The deathclaw screamed in agony as shot after shot from Galford's gatling laser ripped into it. After several seconds, its back glowed red and then the laser beams penetrated right through the deathclaw's hide, putting the final nail in its coffin.

Initiate Elwin ran forward as the deathclaw corpse dropped lifeless. Galford pushed the great carcass off of him before removing his helmet and taking a breather. Elwin moved on past him and helped Benny up onto his feet. The three of them looked at the deathclaw, panting with exhaustion, amazed that they'd actually survived.

Galford turned his head towards the remains of their fallen brother and his face immediately fell solemn.

"I'll get his tags...he fell like a true warrior. Well done to the both of you, not many survive an encounter with a deathclaw…," he sighed "We'll mark this place for a sweep and retrieval. Let's finish up and get a vertibird pick up. I don't really feel like walking back to the Citadel."


	2. Chapter II

Paladin Wells watched the new group of initiates intently. These newbloods, all now in matching uniform and cleanly shaven, no longer looked like mere wastelanders. He analysed every push up, ever jump and even how they ran. Some still had poor posture, others weren't too well built yet, but he still had hope. Paladin Wells cast his eyes around the bailey of the Citadel, the central training and sparring area built into the centre of what used to be the Pentagon before the Great War. How times had changed. The Citadel was considered huge in the past, but now, it was simply glorious.

"I know what you're thinking Brian." said a voice behind him.

Paladin Wells turned, meeting the eyes of a shortish woman who wore her auburn hair in curls that lay lightly across the grey shoulders of a scribe's robes. Her face was weathered and her blue eyes wise. The woman stood next to the paladin, a dwarf in comparison to a man in power armour.

"And what exactly would I be thinking Norah?" he said to her with a smirk.

"That you're getting old. This Citadel has stood for several decades now and you're just about to get nostalgic aren't you?"

Paladin Wells looked down at the woman then back to the training initiates, now being yelled at by another paladin. He looked up to the evening sky and scratched his grey grizzled chin awkwardly.

"Well…" he looked back at her to find her staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you scribes always right?" he sighed, looking up again, then squinting as if trying to spy something in the distance.

"I'm sorry Norah, but I've gotta run. It looks like the research patrol I've been waiting for is about to fly in. I'll come and annoy you in the mess later." he quickly said with a fleeting wave goodbye before running up a set of stairs along the northern wall that led onto a walkway that spanned the bailey like an overhead crossroads. Paladin Wells ran to the centre and then turned right towards the western wall and the vertibird hangars.

Paladin Wells ran across the width of the western wall, descended a short set of stairs and found himself standing on a large platform that sat halfway up the western wall. The platform ran the length of the western and northern wall, curving right around the Citadel itself, and was loaded with a large array of VB-02 vertibirds, large tilt rotor aircraft that carried both cargo as well as numerous weapon systems. Each pad was marked out with a white rectangle and a number. Many of the pads lay empty, due to currently being in the field or deployed somewhere else with the Brotherhood.

Paladin Wells walked further into the platform and turned around, looking up and shielding his eyes as a vertibird flew directly overhead and began to circle back around. Wells always noticed a strange sort of thrill from watching the vertibirds in action, there was nothing else quite like them throughout the wasteland. He watched as the vertibird came around towards the helipad, its twin rotors now aiming vertically, and as it gradually slowed and flew lower before eventually hovering above the pad. From underneath, four landing gear unfolded and with that, it landed, settling on the platform with a thunk and rolling forward slightly.

While the rotors gradually slowed in their spin and the sound of the engine whirred down, a bearded man in power armour stepped off of the vertibird, followed by two smaller men who were clad in the black and grey field uniform of the Brotherhood, light combat armour strapped to their bodies.

The man in power armour approached Paladin Wells, his face dark with grime mixed with sweat and dirt.

"You're a welcome sight, especially after the shit we just went through…". He looked at him with almost pleading eyes.

"I know that look, Galford," Wells said with a slow sigh. "What happened, soldier?"

Knight Galford looked back at the two initiates who were now marvelling at the vertibird hangar platform before glancing down.

"One. I lost one…" he looked up, "to a fucking deathclaw matriarch in the middle of a fucking vault."

"Calm it on the language, knight" said Paladin Wells sternly.

"Sorry sir. I've marked the location for a sweep and retrieval at the earliest convenience, the amount of gear down in that vault will make the quartermaster's head spin."

Wells nodded approvingly, "Well done, knight. I'll make sure it's cleared." he pointed at the two remaining initiates.

"Which one have you chosen?" he asked quietly.

"Initiate Gareth Elwin, sir. I want to sponsor him." replied Galford with a hint of pride.

"Elwin? Not Benny?" Wells said with an inquisitive expression.

"Yes sir, Benny will make a fine addition but he is too cocky and arrogant for my liking. Elwin may be quieter, and perhaps a bit shaky here and then but I can see him going far in the Brotherhood with a bit of...fine tuning."

"Hm, very well soldier. I'll let the higher ups know that you're taking Initiate Elwin under your wing. That will be all, Galford." he stood straight, nodded and put a fist to his chest.

"Ad Victoriam, soldier"

"Ad Victoriam" saluted Galford in response.

Paladin Wells turned and walked back towards the bailey, leaving Galford on the hangar platform.

The knight wiped his face with a steel gauntlet then walked over to the two initiates, still gawking at the vertibird they'd just had the opportunity to fly in.

"...and then after getting out with Elder Maxson, the Sentinel pushed the very button that left the Institute as just an irradiated crater in the middle of the Commonwea-"

"Stand to, initiates!" boomed Galford, right behind the two men, causing them both to jump with fright and stand to attention awkwardly.

"Sorry, did I interrupt your story Initiate Benny?" he asked, amused.

"N-no, not at all, sir." he stammered in reply.

"I didn't think so, initiate. Go on to the B-wing, double time it soldier!" he roared, several inches from the initiate's face.

Galford caught Elwin's shoulder in a steel grasp before he could leave too.

"Not you, Elwin" he said more calmly and with a slight smile, "I've got other things to talk about with you."

"Sir?" Elwin asked, puzzled.

Knight Galford shook his head, "No, not here. Come."

Knight Galford led Initiate Elwin through the bailey and then into the A-wing of the Citadel. The A-wing was formerly home to the Lyon's Pride unit and also included areas such as the Great Hall, however since Arthur Maxson becoming Elder, the interior of both wings of the Citadel had been both rebuilt and expanded using the Brotherhood's newly acquired resources. The A-wing served as the part of the Citadel where mission briefings took place, meetings between/with elders and also included living quarters for Elder Maxson and the highest of authorities in the Brotherhood of Steel. The B-wing kept its role in being majorly the living quarters of initiates, knights, paladins and any sub ranks in between as well as including the med bay.

Initiate Elwin followed Knight Galford through the A-wing, with its rebuilt walls and corridors, making it look much less like a ruin as it did in the past and more like the interior of the Prydwen, the huge airship used by Elder Maxson to launch his campaign against the Institute ten years ago. Elwin felt that this was a refreshing change to the chaos and radioactive dust of the Capital Wasteland. Galford brought him into a long room with a central, rectangular table. Several figures were seated at the table who ended their discussion when Galford and Elwin entered the room.

The initiate looked to the knight for advice, who nodded towards a chair, urging him to sit at the bottom end of the table. Galford attempted to sit next to him until his chair creaked audibly and felt ready to break. The knight resorted to standing after coughing awkwardly. Elwin's heart nearly stopped when he realised who he was in fact sitting with.

Directly opposite him, was a tall man with dark brown hair, short at the sides and swept over from the top. He had a thick beard with a scar running up his right cheek. The man had the face of a true veteran, and he was staring directly at him. He was clad in a large, weathered coat worn over the standard black Brotherhood uniform.

"Do not be nervous, initiate. You're in the presence of brothers here." he said, his voice proud and determined.

Elwin nodded, "Yes, of course, Elder."

Elder Arthur Maxson stood from his chair and paced with his hands behind his back.

"I'll get straight to the point. The Brotherhood has expanded incredibly over the past twenty years. In recent history, we have both brought an end to the tyranny of the Enclave and the cancer that was the Institute. Despite this, the Brotherhood of Steel has now discovered that it stands alone against threats like the ghoul infestations and the super mutant abominations. In short, the other chapters of the Brotherhood have fallen silent, including the Lost Hills bunker. By right of this catastrophe, I am now High Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel and the Citadel is the new headquarters as a whole. Which brings me onto you…" he stopped pacing and instead looked straight at the initiate.

"I am building a new order to incorporate into the Brotherhood. As with any army, there is always a special task force. The Templars."

Maxson pointed at him.

"You, Initiate Gareth Elwin, will be the first. The Templars will be of paramount importance in the near future. When you are able to head this force, you will be a paladin."

The High Elder straightened and nodded.

"As Elder Owyn Lyons had his Lyon's Pride, I will have my Templars. A unit of the strongest paladins in the Brotherhood, they will take on only the most dangerous missions and carry the best equipment we can offer. If you are still with us when your time comes, Knight Galford assures me that the role of a Templar will be a good fit for you. For now, continue your service to the Brotherhood and our cause. Fight with honour, and know that I have my hopes on you, initiate."

Maxson saluted, "Ad Victoriam, initiate".

Elwin rose from his seat, weak at the legs, and returned the salute.

"Ad Victoriam, sir"

With that, Knight Galford led Elwin out of the room. High Elder Maxson sat down and looked at the man on his left and then the woman on the right.

"Do you think he'll be fit to head the Steel Exodus when the time is right?" he asked.

The woman sighed, "Well, as an initiate he's done remarkably so far. I've been watching his progress."

"I agree," said the man "he's a little unsure of himself at the moment but...give him time."

The door opened again and Knight Galford returned. He walked towards the table and slid the Pip-Boy he'd used in Vault 104 over to the man on Maxson's left.

"Sorry, I forgot to give you that back earlier."

"Don't worry about it" he said with a smile, clipping it onto his left arm.


	3. Chapter III

Initiate Elwin walked out of the double doors into the Citadel's bailey, heart racing and mind in disbelief. The famous Arthur Maxson, leader of the Brotherhood of Steel and the latest in the long line of Maxsons since the Great War, had his hopes on him? Gareth Elwin, lowly initiate and former farmhand. He shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"No pressure or anything…"

He walked towards the centre of the bailey, where soldiers of all ranks sparred with each other, although the majority at the moment were simply initiates, save for a few Brotherhood knights who took shots at one another to test the limits of their power armour. Elwin sat down on an empty bench facing three groups that were sparring, all initiates, and removed his combat helmet. He took off his gloves before wiping his face and ruffling up his dark brown hair, which was shorter at the sides than the top albeit not quite to the Maxson level, then laid back and watched his brothers as they slugged at each other in close quarters combat.

Of the three groups he was watching, he was very attentive to a pair of initiates that were sparring to the left side of the marked rectangular area. They looked similar, however a man and a woman. Twins perhaps. The siblings both had murky blonde hair, with the brother's cut short and the sister's in a pony tail, however they both possessed a steely appearance. Their faces were smooth and angular, yet still strong and powerful. Elwin stared at the two fighters as they equally struck and dodged one another. There was no clear winner.

"Move faster, Anton! Attack like father taught you!" shouted the sister, a clear Russian accent in her voice, as she swiftly caught her brother's strike and used his moment to propel him away. The brother, Anton, rolled and then turned before charging back at his sister with furious speed, catching her off guard and driving her into the ground. She kicked into Anton's stomach as she hit the dirt, flipping him off her backwards.

The bench shook suddenly and Elwin snapped his gaze to the left as a Brotherhood knight sat down next to him in full power armor, save for the helmet. The knight glanced at him while downing a full bottle of Nuka-Cola, then planting the bottle between him and the initiate.

"They're not bad are they?" he said, nodding towards the russian siblings.

"Agreed, sir. They're quite good."

The knight looked at Elwin, staring directly into his cold blue eyes, then laughed.

"You can lose the formality, kid. This is the bailey, where initiates, knights and paladins beat the crap outta one another and have a good drink afterwards!" he shouted, opening another bottle of Nuka-Cola.

"Are you sure that's just Nuka-Cola in there?" Elwin asked with a slight smirk and raising an eyebrow. The knight looked at him, squinting as if somehow trying to pierce his skull with eyesight alone, and then he smiled.

"Perhaps the next time you're sat out here on your own, I'll bring a few extra bottles so you can see for yourself." He let out a hacking cough, rising from the bench while wiping his mouth with a steel gauntlet.

"Ahh shit, I'll be back later. Good talking to you!" he said, running off towards the B-wing, briefly stopping by a bin to vomit before carrying on and catching the eyes of just about every person present in the bailey.

Elwin sighed in disgust before turning back to the siblings. The sister was quietly talking to her brother, who was holding a bust nose and clutching his ribs. She made several gestures, demonstrating different attacks, before putting her hands on her hips and then shaking her head. He watched as she kissed Anton's forehead and then sent him out of the marked area, his face dripping in blood. Elwin's gaze followed Anton as he hobbled towards him, then sitting on the bench.

"Are you alright? You took quite a few hits there." he asked.

Anton looked at him out of the corner of his eye, trying not to let blood spill out in front of him.

"Do not worry about me, my friend, you are next."

"Wait- what?" Elwin looked towards the sparring pit. Anton's sister stood staring directly at him, arms crossed. He turned back to Anton.

"Hey now I just wanted to sit down and watch-"

"It doesn't matter. She's picked you and she'll carry on waiting until you get into that ring with her." Anton interrupted. Initiate Elwin looked between Anton and his sister, trying to get Anton to somehow let him leave, but all he did was shake his head. Elwin sighed and bowed his head.

"Shit…" Elwin stood up and looked around. A few other brotherhood members had stopped sparring and were ready to watch the 'next big fight'. The initiate awkwardly walked into the sparring pit, suddenly conscious of every movement he made. Elwin soon enough stood before Anton's sister, who was still staring at him with her arms crossed.

"So, me and you fight now?" she asked, leaning slightly forward.

He looked around while awkwardly scratching his head. More of the sparring pairs had turned their attention to him now. Why was this considered so much of a spectacle?

"Uhh, sure. I mean, if you want…" Elwin looked at her and his heart immediately ramped up in speed as he caught a glimpse of Knight Galford coming out of the A-wing and towards the sparring pit.

"Who were you again?" he asked, raising his fists and turning so that he was more side on, with his feet spaced.

"Yuliya Borbov. Yourself?" she said, spitting into the dirt.

"Ga-"

Yuliya stopped him with a strong right hook to the jaw. Gareth dropped to one knee, clutching his jaw while the growing crowd laughed. She'd moved faster than any other fighter he'd seen. He got up, his face a grimace and locked eyes with her.

"Alright, fair play, my guard was down."

He shook his arms and circled her, light on his feet before lunging forwards and jabbing her in the gut. Yuliya swung a right kick at him and he rolled to her side, then kicking forward and grabbing her calves with both legs, flipping her forwards into the dirt. As he got up he heard several people in the crowd clap. Yuliya got up and wiped her face with a bandaged hand before charging back at the initiate. She threw two alternating punches, one to the head and another in his side before slamming down on the side of Gareth's leg with a strong kick, threatening a break and causing him to scream in pain. Several individuals in the crowd winced as Initiate Elwin sustained hit after hit. Yuliya was hitting him repeatedly with hardly a second between each strike. Finally there was a seconds reprieve where Elwin could finally regain some measure of control of his body, however it was in vain. Yuliya finished with an uppercut and then a hard kick to the lower abdomen, knocking him flat on his face. She knelt down by him.

"To be honest, my friend, I don't think you had your guard up in the first place." she said, patting his head in mockery. Elwin struggled to stand, he felt like he'd just been mauled by a horde of super mutants. Gareth hobbled back over to the bench and watched as the evening sun fell into night. Anton was still sat on the bench with a hand to his nose.

"Well, at least nothing looks broken." said Anton, amused.

"After seeing how she cleaned you up before, I already knew I wasn't going to win." said Gareth, stretching his jaw and wincing in pain.

Anton shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps, but yet you still fought anyway. You still tried your damnedest to beat the hell out of my sister, and that takes courage." he said, chuckling heartily.

"If that's the case then courage hurts like hell."

"True, but that's why the most courageous are the strongest. Remember, my friend," he said, standing and putting a hand on his shoulder, "even the strongest fall down. It's the getting up again that counts." Anton nodded and walked off, still clutching his side.

Gareth Elwin sat there on the bench for several minutes, pondering Anton's wise words, before setting off towards the B-wing. For him it had been an incredibly tiresome day; a fight with a deathclaw, a talk with High Elder Maxson himself and a brutal beating from Yuliya Borbov. Elwin entered through the double doors and into the mess hall, which was arrayed with the kitchen right at the back and several dozen tables between it and the front door. Extending off of the mess hall were several corridors, each appropriately signed as either paladin, knight or initiate sleeping quarters. He took the first corridor to the right. The corridor led on straight for about ten metres, with doors to the restroom in between, and then turned left at the end into a compact room with rows of beds, each with a personal footlocker and bedside table. At several points in the large room were tables and chairs and even a smaller kitchen. A line of fluorescent lights lit the initiate's quarters with a strong glow. As always it was bustling with initiates. Some had been here for a couple of years, such as himself, while others had only been here a few days at best. There was always someone new.

Gareth made his way down the left row of beds, looking at the initials carved into each locker. Ever since the Citadel had been rebuilt internally, initiates had carved their initials into their footlockers to show clearly who it belonged to, and then when they were promoted from initiate to either knight or scribe, they would cross out their initials and sometimes even leave a message for the next owner. Elwin found his, decorated with a carved Brotherhood logo and his initials beside a line of others that were crossed out. He sat down on the grey covers and took off the rest of his combat armour, leaving just the black and grey jumpsuit that was the recognised Brotherhood uniform, besides from power armour of course. Then, Gareth leant down under his bed and pulled out his laser rifle, pulling the latch on the side and then taking out the fusion cell before sliding the gun back under. He looked down at himself. He was too tired to even get out of the uniform. With that, he slowly laid back on the bed and shut his eyes.

"So I heard you got your ass handed to you by that new russian girl."

Elwin's eyes snapped open to see Initiate Benjamin 'Benny' Thornley lying on the bed next to him reading a copy of the fourteenth issue of 'Grognak the Barbarian: In the Lair of the Virgin Eater', his black hair set in a neat parting.

"And I bet the same would happen to you if you were in the sparring pit with her." said Gareth, wiping his eyes and propping himself up on his elbows. Benny ignored the comment and turned a page in his comic book.

"I also heard that after our ever so lovely Knight Galford sent me running back here, he took you to have a chat with the great and glorious Maxson." he finally turned his gaze from his comic to Gareth. "So, go on."

"Go on, what?"

"What did Maxson talk to you about?" he asked, dropping his comic in his lap and lighting a cigarette.

"To put it simply, if i get to the rank of paladin, then I'll be one of the first guys to be put into this other group that they're gonna use as a special task force called the Templars. Similar to what Lyon's Pride was like."

Benny looked at him wide-eyed, "You serious? I've heard a few paladins talk about this Templar group but there was nothing official. You know, the usual hushed up sort of B.S. we hear but god damn…" he picked up his comic and began reading again while puffing his cigarette.

"By the way, Gareth, Galford has another mission for us for tomorrow afternoon. I think he was going to let you know earlier but...you were too busy getting your ass kicked."

"He could have waited." said Elwin, looking up at the ceiling.

"Well yeah but, it's Galford. He'd sooner have a punch up with a behemoth and then go for drinks at Tenpenny Tower than wait around."

"What's he having us do now?"

Benny scratched his chin, looking up in a desperate attempt to remember, "Uhm, something about a research patrol going missing. Both the scribe and the knight sent with him haven't returned yet so I guess we have to go with Galford to find out what's happened. Simple stuff as usual after shit's gone down."

Elwin scanned the room to find the majority of the other initiates asleep, then looked at Benny with a furrowed brow.

"Why the hell are you even still awake?"

Benny looked back at him with a blank face and then pointed down. There was a wooden box filled to the brim with comic books sat between their beds.

"This is the only time I get to read this stuff. I uh, 'borrowed' the collection from one of the scribes down in the laboratory."

He sighed at Benny, his head felt heavy with exhaustion.

"Whatever, just don't wake me up again or I'm going to stab that collection with a knife."

"Whoa now, message taken, there's no need to harm the poor comics, right?"

"Benny…" he warned

Benny held up his hands as if in surrender and pursed his lips. Elwin shook his head and turned over in his bed, plummeting straight back into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter IV

Initiate Elwin opened his eyes to see the imposing figure of Knight Galford standing over him in full power armour.

"Good morning, sir" he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Afternoon, initiate. It's the afternoon." said Galford sternly.

Gareth quickly got out of his bed and scrambled around for his gear while Galford sighed and started to walk out of the room.

"I want you out by the front gate in ten minutes, Elwin!" he called back.

Elwin hurriedly fastened the straps of the different sections of his armour after relieving himself in the restroom. His armour secure, he grabbed his rifle, loaded the cell from last night and grabbed some extras from his bedside table before running out into the bailey.

Gareth ran across the length of the bailey to the front gate, a set of rusted double doors that was protected on both sides by barricades, shelters, sentry bots and knights. Knight Galford stood waiting alongside Benny.

"Why didn't you wake me up before it got too late?" asked Gareth, his eyes locked on Benny, who looked very tired himself.

Benny smiled mischievously, "Well you did tell me not to wake you up…"

Galford sighed, "Enough pissing around. We're heading out, so keep your eyes open for any threats and the chatter moderate. I'm on point. Let's move."

Over the next three hours, the team of three traveled north from the Citadel at a decent pace along the west side of the Potomac River until they reached the outskirts of the broken city, then headed west. Here, there wasn't much sign of civilisation; just dirt, scrap and the odd ruined house. Galford continued to lead the team at the front, with Elwin in the centre and Benny at the rear. They hadn't encountered a single living thing on the careful trek, mostly thanks to the Brotherhood's highly efficient 'Sweepers'; small teams of Brotherhood knights with a sentry bot each that dedicate themselves to keeping entire sectors clear of mutants and other undesirables like raiders or hostile mercenaries.

"Sir…" started Benny, pointing past Knight Galford, "what's that over there?"

Initiate Elwin eyes followed the aim of Benny's pointed finger, settling on what looked like a gigantic scrapyard. As he looked more deeply, he realised it wasn't all exactly just junk, but the great structure had been built from what appeared to be an old pre-war bomber plane, except the structure also was in heavy disarray, as if something had erupted from the inside.

"That's Megaton, initiate, or rather what's left of it. It's also our sign that we now have to go north." he said, pointing a steel arm to the right of the group.

"What happened to it?" asked Elwin, now making sure that both he and Benny were moving northwards.

"It was built ages ago around an old nuclear warhead that hadn't detonated, which if you ask me is just crazy on its own, but you know those Children of Atom fanatics? Well, they started out from there too. About twenty years ago, at around the time we were fighting the Enclave to keep hold of Project Purity, the town just exploded in a great big nuclear fireball. I was an initiate at the Citadel at the time, but even that far away you could feel the shockwave under your feet,and the sky just lit up. But that's what you get for building a town on a nuke. As I said, those people were just plain crazy…" Galford raised a fist, clear for the two initiates to see, and stopped before crouching down behind the cover of an old burned out car.

Elwin ducked down and then peered ahead, trying to see what had caught the knight's eye. In front of them was a small town comprised of several burned out buildings and the ruins of a school that surrounded a red shelter fashioned in the likeness of a rocket that stood over a courtyard. There was no visible movement, but vigilance was always advised. Galford stood up again while still scouring the town, then spoke to Elwin and Benny in a hushed tone.

"I don't know what's ahead, but this is the last known position of the research patrol so be ready for anything. We'll take this slow and steady, we don't want to be a second missing team after all." he glanced back up to the town, then pointed at the two initiates.

"We'll split up and move in from different sides. I want you two to move in from this side while I move in from the west. I'll double back and circle round so give it five minutes before making a move. You've got each other and I've got my power armour, so this should go smoothly. Understood?"

"Absolutely"

"Affirmative, sir"

Galford nodded and then left them, running back a ways before beginning to move west around the town. Elwin quickly checked over his laser rifle and mentally readied himself for a firefight. Even if the area was infact clear, it was always worth being prepared. After a few minutes, Elwin felt a hand pat his shoulder twice, to which he quickly moved out from behind the car and towards the back of one of the burned out houses, conscious of any noise he was making. The initiate moved with his back to the wall and up to the corner before peeking his head round. The courtyard was littered with the ruins of vehicles from a bygone era; rusted and charred hulks of steel amongst long dead greenery. Elwin dropped to one knee and raised his rifle while Benny moved past him to take cover behind an old school bus that rested around the front of the burned out house. He watched as Benny peered around the bus before raising a hand towards him, his thumb and index finger pinched together to form the 'okay' sign. Elwin quickly joined his comrade behind the school bus and peered around himself, a grey figure catching his eye.

Knight Galford moved along the road to the edge of the square, seeing the two initiates to his right behind a bus. They were covering him. The pinging in his helmet was louder now, louder and faster. They were close. Galford double checked his laser rifle before walking out into the open, his gun raised and his eyes glancing from window to window of the school on the eastern side. The building was large and grey with concrete, with several floors caved in. It was a traditional pre-war american elementary. Springvale.

The knight continued to move to the centre of the square, the pinging continually increasing in speed. Galford walked under the Red Rocket shelter and the pinging became continuous. Directly below the shelter was a small box with a flashing red bulb, a Brotherhood of Steel distress pulser. Galford knelt down by the pulser and let his rifle rest on the ground before drawing his attention to the small antenna next to the red flashing bulb. Several holotags were draped around it, some stained with blood. His eyes widened and he looked up.

A loud, electric crack sounded, quickly followed by a stream of blue light, a scream of pain and the shearing of metal. Elwin watched in shock as Knight Galford was flung backwards in an anticlockwise spin, spraying blood all over the ground. The initiate rushed forward while Benny fired beams of red towards the school like a madman. When Elwin reached the still figure of Knight Galford, he couldn't believe his eyes. Whatever had shot at the knight, had torn clear through the layers of steel and the frame itself, ripping off the soldier's limb halfway up his upper arm and leaving him bleeding profusely. Elwin turned towards the school, looking for a target when several trails of gunfire erupted from several windows, leaving faint blue streaks in the air as the rounds churned up concrete and metal. The initiate dived behind a low concrete wall and glanced back to see several more shots tear through the body of Knight Galford. He winced and ducked down.

 _What the hell are they using that's so powerful?_

Elwin was forced to duck lower and lower as chunks of concrete broke out from the wall. Almost immediately, the gunfire stopped, leaving a sudden silence that made the young soldier's heart race even faster.

"Gareth! You alright!?"

Elwin felt a strong sense of relief that his friend was still alive, and shouted back.

"Yeah, are we clear?"

There was a moment's silence before Benny clambered over the wall preceded by another hail of gunfire. Elwin grabbed him and pulled him down so that he was flat on the ground. Benny looked at him, his face coated in concrete dust, and nodded.

"That'd be a no…"

"Just keep down, dammit! Whatever they're using can go right through steel and concrete!"

"I fucking noticed!"

Elwin ducked his head as several more shots came towards them, breaking up chunks in the road. He quickly glanced around. They needed a way out, and quickly. His eyes fell on the remains of the knight. Gareth planted a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Give me some cover fire, I've got an idea."

Benny nodded, "I've got you."

Benny ran out towards the burned houses while blindly firing his laser rifle towards the school, disappearing behind cover. Elwin waited several seconds, then took his chance. The initiate ran towards Galford at a sprint, then slid to a halt at the body. He rolled the knight over with a great deal of effort and checked his waist, producing a small smoke flare. He quickly lit the flare and rolled it out past the Red Rocket shelter before running west and into one of the devastated houses. Elwin looked back to see Benny running towards him at full sprint. He moved his gaze from his friend to the school. The gunfire had stopped, however he could only just make out the darkened silhouettes of the shooters, now scrambling around in what looked like a desperate bid to escape.

Gareth Elwin slumped down in the rubble of the house as Benny entered the charred building, a smirk on his grimey face.

"I guess they don't like blue smoke eh?" he said, pointing to the flare.

Elwin looked and frowned, "Or they know what the smoke means…"

He let the suggestion trail off as the sound of distant rotor blades neared, echoing across the wasteland. Benny turned and left the house with Elwin following suit. The roar of engines came clear as a Brotherhood vertibird circled over Springvale, it's side-mounted minigun making an audible whirring noise as it spun. Benny waved an arm toward to the gunship and it slowed down as it circled, eventually coming down to land in front of the school. The gunner disembarked when Benny and Elwin beckoned him over to help carry Galford onto the craft, leaving a thick pool of crimson with small splinters of flesh and metal where he lay. The three of them laid Galford across several seats and buckled him in, then the gunner nodded to Elwin and resumed his duties while Elwin and Benny stood and held on as the vertibird's rotors began to spin more quickly, soon lifting the craft into the air.

Elwin looked down onto the Capital Wasteland below, watching as the desolation passed by like a blur. He cast a glance to his friend, finding him staring down at the steel floor of the vertibird with tears in his eyes. He felt a pang in his chest, like a weight tugging on his heart, and moved over to where Galford lay. The initiate reached under the knight's chest plate and pulled out his holotags.

 _NATHAN_

 _GALFORD_

 _#28371_

 _B.O.S. KNIGHT_

 _A TYPE_

Elwin slid the tags into a pocket and closed the knight's eyes.

"Ad Victoriam, sir…" he whispered.

He quickly turned away, blinked back tears and coughing shakily.

Within several minutes, the vertibird came up to and landed at the Citadel, casting a long shadow against the setting sun. The two initiates stepped off the vertibird and onto the landing pad, both covered in dirt, cuts, bruises, grey dust and wearing a weary and solemn face. Initiate Elwin walked forward with a little difficulty, his legs weak, and looked ahead to see a familiar face running towards him.

"Gareth! I've been waiting for you. Yuliya-"

Elwin held up a hand, cutting him off.

"Anton… now really isn't the best of times."

Anton clenched his jaw and squinted past him towards the vertibird, eyeing the scribes that were tending to Knight Galford. His face fell and he looked back at the initiate sympathetically.

"The knight…, my friend, I am so sorry." he said, lowering his head, "I just needed to let you know that Yuliya wants to talk to you at some point."

Several seconds passed between them before Anton spoke again.

"Look if you need anything, just friendly company or an ear to listen…"

"It's alright, I'll...I'll be fine I think. Thank you, though." Elwin half-smiled and moved past Anton and made directly for the B-wing. After traversing the bailey and the many sparrers, he found Benny sitting in the initiate dorm section of the B-wing alone at a table, his helmet on the floor and his right hand spinning a knife against the wood.

Elwin dropped his rifle and helmet on the floor next to Benny's and sat down next to him, turning Galford's tags over and over in his hands. The initiate living quarters was mostly empty at the moment save for several sleeping soldiers who had come back early after being beaten black and blue in the bailey. Several minutes passed while they sat in silence.

"It's fucking bullshit, Gareth."

The knife was no longer spinning.

"Galford?"

"Not just him, Edwards too. Them and all the others."

"Yeah...I know."

Benny let the knife drop on the table and sighed before picking it up again and sheathing it.

"Edwards had only just started…, and Galford… well, he was just too goddamn good of a man and a soldier to be killed in a fucking ambush!" he slammed the table with a fist and tears in his eyes, his voice pained and shaky.

It hurt Gareth to see his friend like this. He wondered if he'd be fit for duty over the next few days. Elwin sighed and put an arm around Benny.

"They didn't die for nothing. They died fighting for the Brotherhood, and for us. So the least we can do is stay strong and remember them and their sacrifice as we go forward. Galford was a tough son-of-a-bitch and a damn good soldier. Infact, all of us are, and we'll do their memory proud as we win battle after battle against the shit that puts humanity in danger. If not for the Brotherhood, for them."

"Ad Victoriam, Gareth."

He nodded.

"Ad Victoriam."


	5. Chapter V

"Tell me exactly what happened, initiate".

Gareth stood before a pacing High Elder Maxson with Benny in the A-wing of the Citadel. Beads of sweat trickled down the initiate's neck as he tried to keep his composure and recall the events.

"We got to Springvale, then Galford split with the team to enter from a second side. Me and Initiate Thornley entered from the south while Galford came west. We covered him from behind a bus as he moved into the town square, but then…" Gareth's face fell slightly as the sentence trailed.

"But then Knight Galford came under fire from the school," continued Benny from where Gareth ended, "it was an ambush, there was no sign of the patrol we'd been sent to find."

Maxson frowned at the pair of them for a few moments, scratching his bearded chin.

"Then tell me how exactly a knight of the Brotherhood, a trained soldier in his full suit of high-grade power armour, who was under the keen eyes of his subordinates, was ambushed?" he demanded accusingly.

"We couldn't see the shooters, sir. That and they were using weapons that we've never seen before. Their shots left blue streaks in the air-"

"Institute synths? After all this time?" Maxson's eyes had lit up.

"No, sir." said Gareth, "They weren't laser beams. Each shot was strong enough to tear through concrete and metal."

"Gauss rifles?"

Maxson and the initiates turned to see a man in full power armour standing by the door. The armour was standard of the Brotherhood; a T-60 exo-suit painted grey-black rather than the suit's original grey steel. Gareth noticed that the inner plates were painted dark red, and there were two stripes of the same shade around his left forearm, a tell tale sign of higher rank. His eyes widened at the insignia on his left arm.

"Sentinel, I didn't hear you enter…" said Maxson, surprised.

"The door was open, High Elder."

"Very well. Continue, Sentinel."

The Sentinel looked at Gareth, then continued, "As I said, gauss rifles perhaps? You did basically say that you fired at with high powered slugs that left a blue streak in the air?"

Gareth nodded, "Y-yes, sir, but their weapons were automatic."

Maxson furrowed his brow in thought and looked at the Sentinel in inquiry. The Sentinel shook his head and folded his arms, seemingly understanding Maxson's thought process.

Maxson looked down, perplexed, then faced the two initiates again.

"Understood, soldier. We'll look into this further. Sentinel?" he said, turning his head.

The man in power armour was walking out of the room, a plasma rifle slung over his shoulder, "Already moving on it, sir."

"Initiate Thornley, you are dismissed, soldier. Ad Victoriam" he said, saluting. Benny returned the salute and left the briefing room, leaving Maxson alone with Gareth. Gareth met Maxson's eyes. Although the High Elder was by no means old at the age of thirty, his face appeared almost tired. There were wrinkles around his blue eyes and the onset of grey was apparent in his hair, the side effects of being an elder from such a young age.

"Galford spoke to me before your mission" he said in a more gentle tone, "he put forward a request for a promotion. For you."

Gareth looked at the man in surprise. Galford had wanted to promote him of all people? Why didn't he choose the better soldier and promote Benny?

"Elder, there may have been a mistake-"

"There was no mistake, initiate. This was meant for you." he straightened and gazed upon Gareth with a measure of pride.

"Through your several years of service as an initiate to the Brotherhood, you have achieved to a standard that deems you worthy of the title of knight. You will be no longer under such strict tutelage as you were with Galford. You will partake in missions with members of all ranks and learn through experience. Oh and you'll also be granted a suit of power armour, as befits your title. Wear it with pride."

"I...thank you, elder. I'll make good use of it."

"I have no doubt you will, knight. Ad Victoriam." Maxson nodded before turning on his heel and leaving into his private quarters.

Gareth stood alone in the briefing room, his heart racing and mind going ten to a dozen. It had been two years and several months since he had first stepped foot inside the Citadel as an initiate to the Brotherhood of Steel. All of that time had been spent either training, sparring or doing missions with Galford. He'd operated next to many different initiates; some had fallen in combat, been promoted to knight or scribe and moved on or had outright given up and left the Brotherhood. All of this time and finally, it was his turn to take the next step in the ranks. His mother would have been proud.

Gareth shook himself and left the A-wing through a set of stairs that were down a corridor east from the briefing room, taking him down into the laboratory level of the Citadel. The laboratory section was the home of the Brotherhood's scribes; researchers, engineers and scientists that covet technology and its designs to create and improve new technologies for use by the Brotherhood. Gareth made his way through the gantry chamber (the holding area for the Brotherhood's infamous forty-foot anti-communist robot, Liberty Prime) and into the Ironworks. The Ironworks was a new section to the Citadel that also featured a massive cargo lift that reached up to the surface of the wasteland. The area was dedicated to the construction and maintenance of all things mechanical and electrical. It was here where vertibirds were modified and repaired, as well as where the majority of the Brotherhood's supply of power armour was stored, distributed and maintained. The Ironworks also served as a general workshop and as a maintenance area for a wide manner of robots used by the Brotherhood, ranging from protectrons and Mister Gutsy models to sentry bots and assaultrons. In short, the Ironworks was huge in comparison to the other sections of the Citadel. Branching off from Liberty Prime's chamber, it was a huge tunnel that was split into separate sections. The power armoury was the first section of the tunnel, featuring six rooms on either side that had six power armour bays inside along with just about all the tools and materials required for modifications and adjustments. The second section was the bot maintenance hangar, featuring another six rooms with similar bays but for the larger robots, however there was also a small cargo lift in the centre of the tunnel between the six rooms that led down into the main storage level for the many automatons. Finally there was the vertibird repair dock, which was another tunnel running across the main tunnel, forming a 'T' shape with the main cargo lift in the centre. The repair dock was wider than the main tunnel and had enough space for two vertibirds to be locked in at either end, whether that was on a pad or hanging from one of the cranes.

Gareth made his way into the power armoury, passing by the bustle of engineers and the several knights who were here to make repairs.

"You need help with something, soldier?"

Gareth turned at the gruff voice to see a heavily bearded man covered in grime and oil, wearing fatigues and a set of welding goggles.

"I uh, I've just been promoted to kni-"

"Power armour, gotcha. Over here, kid." he interrupted, pushing him through a doorway on the left side of the tunnel marked with a large '5'. The burly man led him in and stopped to check a clipboard mounted on the wall, mumbling as he did so.

"Hm, mhm, right so, bay one is all yours." he pointed to a metal yellow frame that arched over a standing suit of steel. Gareth stood in front of it, marvelling at the thought that he finally owned his own set.

"Pre-modified T-60d mark II suit, painted in Brotherhood style naturally…"

The suit stood slightly hunched over due to its weight. It was large and hulking, around nearly eight feet tall when stood straight. Everything besides the stomach and waist was plated in curved steel plates. The helmet was slightly reminiscent of a gas mask, with two pipes that fed from the rebreather at the front to the back of the helmet. Unlike most armours of the wasteland, the suit also included large pauldrons that were built of two layers for the best combination of ease of movement and protection. The waist (where ease of movement was most imperative) remained largely a mixture of piping, wires and thin plates except for the very front where a small plate was inserted under the main chest guard. The suit also included it's own mechanical hands, due to the fact that the suit was simply larger than a person, so the pilot would always be at an elevated height and therefore their arms also too short.

"I take it by your face that you're impressed? The name is Proctor Grumman by the way." he shook Gareth's hand and lifted up his goggles, revealing a pair of small, beady brown eyes.

"How do I actually get into it?" asked Gareth.

"There's wheel on the back of the armour, like the sort they used to use on ships before the war for doors." replied Grumman, stepping back with his hands on his hips.

Gareth stepped around to the back of the suit and turned the small wheel, stepping back as the back of the suit folded outwards towards him.

"Just step inside, pull yourself up so that your head is in the helmet and then grab hold of the mechanisms in each arm." instructed the proctor.

Gareth put a foot on the elevated pad of the right leg, grabbed the suit's waist and pulled himself into it, settling his left foot and sliding his head into the helmet. He then lifted his arms slightly and reached around for the mechanisms in the arms. Finding one, and then the other, he pulled and the suit folded back up again, encasing the knight in hydraulic suit of steel. Gareth stood in the power armour, moving his arms and flexing the mechanical hands. He then took a few steps back and forth, finding the sensation of hydraulic movement to be quite uncomfortable to begin with.

"Easy now, remember its power armour, a hydraulic suit. Relax yourself and let the armour do most of the work, otherwise you'll over exert your body just by walking." advised Grumman.

"Yeah it just takes a bit of getting used to." said Gareth, suddenly aware of his voice through the helmet being alike to that of a radio.

"The suit's heads-up-display has all the essentials; geiger counter, compass, structural integrity and power level...although I don't see why we still have that last one. The scribes managed to reconfigure the power distribution with a new type of fusion core so that the power lasts longer than a Pip-Boy, so really the power level gauge is pointless." said Grumman as Gareth continued to test out his new power armour.

"I assume I can use this bay again for repairs?" asked Gareth.

"That and modifications, yeah. Which reminds me actually, that particular set of armour is one of about twelve that I've been tinkering with. The shock absorbers in both legs have been calibrated to allow for the suit to compensate for larger weights and the pressure in the bracer hydraulics has also been increased so that you can apply a greater amount of force through the arms." explained the proctor.

There was a few seconds silence as Grumman looked over Gareth's power armour before he finally spoke again.

"Well, soldier, that's about it. Come back any time to mod or repair your armour. Oh and a word of warning, this should be obvious, but no you can't swim in power armour. And no, you can't breathe underwater either."

"Understood, proctor." he nodded.

"Good, just don't break it. So long." he said, returning to his duties after giving Gareth a brief wave goodbye.

After returning to the B-wing and moving his belongings to the knight's living quarters, Gareth walked up onto the bailey, still clad in his power armour. With heavy, hydraulic steps, Gareth walked over to the sparring pits, now filled with initiates hoping to best each other in the midday sun. Scanning across with his eyes, Gareth caught the familiar sight of one of the Bobrov siblings laying waste to the competition, and approached. The new knight stood at the edge of the pit, watching through his helmet as a large, muscular brute of a man was easily beaten by Yuliya Bobrov, the fight finishing with a two hard kicks to the gut, knocking him flat on his face. Yuliya noticed the armoured figure and nodded towards him, spitting in the dirt before approaching.

"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked politely.

Gareth removed his helmet and holding it under his arm, amused by the change of expression on Yuliya's face.

"I believe you wished to speak with me, initiate." he smirked. It was strange to call other people by that rank after so long. Yuliya furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

"If it weren't for that armour, I'd beat you to hell for that." she said, looking up at Gareth as his smirk turned into a grin. She sighed and relaxed herself.

"But yes, I wanted to talk to you…" said Yuliya, looking down.

"Well, I'm all ears, Yuliya." said Gareth, a face of concern.

"Well, first I just want to say that I'm sorry about what happened to Galford," she noticed Gareth's face darken slightly at his mention, "but this is actually something I was going to discuss with Galford originally. You see, me and Anton are pretty new here and of everyone I've fought so far I've beaten. But you were the most challenging, despite losing. So, in respect to that and being a friend of Anton's…" she let the sentence hang before continuing.

"As you're now a knight, you get a bit more leeway in your team and who's part of it. I would like to request that me and Anton join you and Initiate Thornley on your missions, to learn from you and just to get experience in the field." Yuliya stood looking at him sternly, she was clearly built for a military life.

"Uh, sure. I mean, yeah of course. I would be happy to have you along." he said with an awkward smile.

"Thank you, I really appreci-"

"Gareth!"

Gareth and Yuliya turned to see Benny running towards them. He made eye contact with her and mouthed a 'sorry' before Benny stopped in front of him and looked him up and down.

"So when the hell were you gonna tell me that you made it to knight?" he laughed, looking over his friend's armour in awe, "I'll say this now, you look pretty damn good in that power armour, chum."

His eyes turned to Yuliya, who had been standing rather awkwardly from the moment Benny had appeared.

"Yuliya right? Benjamin Thornley, Benny for short." he said, shaking her hand and winking, to which Gareth simply sighed and rolled his eyes. As good a friend as Benny was, he was also an embarrassment on the very same level.

Yuliya began to walk away when she said "Sorry, but uh, I have things to do...um you know." She then hurried off out of sight away from the two soldiers. Benny looked at Gareth disapprovingly, shaking his head.

"Come on now, what did you to say to her?"

"Wait- what did I say to her? Are you serious?"

"Well it can't have been me that scared her off, I'm a charmer." Benny smirked.

After departing from the bailey, Benny left to head for the B-wing while Gareth entered the A-wing. He found High Elder Maxson waiting for him at the head of the briefing table. Gareth stood before him at the bottom end.

"Ready for orders, elder." said Gareth in a stern tone.

"Very good, knight. You suit the armour well." acknowledged Maxson, "Well, let's get down to it then. This is your first assignment under the rank of knight, so I should let you know that this will be expected to be more dangerous than the majority of your past assignments. Is that understood?" he said, once again pacing the room.

"Fully, sir."

"Good. The mission is as follows; to the far north is a newly established raider group operating out of Paradise Falls. Now I know what you're thinking, this usually isn't our type of mission, but these raiders have brought a quantity of Institute synths into the Capital Wasteland from the Commonwealth and are somehow controlling them. It's bad enough that we have synths still active today, and it's even worse when the technology to control them is being used by unreliable people. You'll take a vertibird with your team and be dropped off a few miles away and you'll move in on foot. Wipe everything out. I don't want a single trace of those abominations. Is that clear, knight?"

"Perfectly, sir."

Maxson nodded, "Ad Victoriam, soldier."

"Ad Victoriam."


	6. Chapter VI

The skies of the Capital Wasteland echoed with the rumble of the twin-rotor craft, a silhouette against the dawning sun. The vertibird settled on a wide desolate plain strewn with debris and rubble, blasting dust in all directions while its cargo disembarked. After a minute, the large aircraft lifted back up into the air, circling the area twice before heading off back south. As the dust settled, the team of Brotherhood soldiers got their bearings.

"So, where are we going again?" asked Benny, eyes squinted against the sun while he brushed the dust off of his clothes.

Yuliya scoffed at the question, shaking her head while Anton unshouldered a sniper rifle and Gareth took a glancing look at the sun then pointed perpendicular to it, placing the sun on his right.

"Paradise Falls, to the north." he said.

Benny raised an eyebrow, looking unsure of himself all of a sudden.

"Isn't that-"

"The old slaver compound? Yeah it is." confirmed Gareth as he slid on his T-60 helmet.

There was several moments of silence before Juliya turned to him slowly, her face a jeering smirk.

"Are you afraid, Thornley?" she said, cocking her head slightly to the left.

The initiate fumbled and stammered, "what? N-no, of course not, just…" he sighed shakily, "uneasy."

Gareth took several heavy steps towards his friend and put a large mechanised hand on his shoulder.

"It's just a few raiders and synths, we'll be fine." said Gareth in a comforting tone.

Benny smiled a little and nodded. Gareth quickly looked around, casting his eyes in all directions. They were close to the edge of the city on the northern side of the Potomac river, the city extended for miles to the south while in all other directions the sights were the wasteland average; dusted and rocky lands covered with dead trees, irradiated water pools, rubble and scrap, with the long broken highways stretching across the skyline, elevated high above the barren world below. The knight looked forward to see that directly ahead, the highway had broken into several segments with whole swaths of concrete road hanging down by rusted steel cables. In the distance, past the highway and several demolished buildings, was a tall, painted statue in the likeness of a cartoon-like boy holding an ice cream.

"Anton," he called, pointing a finger towards the complex of buildings at the feet of the statue in the distance, "is that the place?"

Anton's eyes followed the direction of Gareth's finger, then he dropped to one knee and peered through the scope of his rifle. He stood back up and nodded.

Gareth looked to his new squad, each of them looking at him expectantly with Benny lighting a cigarette, Anton wiping his scope lens with a cloth and Yuliya quickly checking her hair, which was still a ponytail but now also shaved at the sides. He cleared his throat with a loud cough.

"Right then, so the target is several miles to the north and the order is to simply wipe everything out. Between here and the target is the highway and plenty of wasteland for something to go wrong, so I guess we should stick to a diamond formation and keep the chatter low."

"Is that an order or a suggestion, Gareth?" said Yuliya with a stone expression.

Gareth stared at her, suddenly feeling angry at the slight challenge.

"That's an order, initiate." he replied sternly.

"Move out."

Over the next hour, Gareth's squad traversed beneath the lumbering highway and across the wastes with a high degree of caution, eyes open for any possible threat. The small unit was passing by a small scrapyard and scaling a small rise when Yuliya raised a fist from the front of the formation. She held her fist up for several seconds, scanning ahead and quickly looking at the scrapyard to their left before signalling for everyone to get down. Yuliya looked back towards her team and made several other gestures, stretching a fisted hand at a seventy degree angle above her head before letting her expression drop to a dumb look while she spiralled a finger several times towards her head.

"What the fuck does that mean?" said Benny, casting a more than confused look at both Gareth and Anton.

Anton shrugged, "Beats me, my friend."

"What? You're her brother surely you know what-"

"Super mutants" interrupted Gareth.

Both Anton's and Benny's expressions turned serious and they readied their weapons. Gareth ordered Anton to find a place to shoot from while he and Benny moved around to the right to catch a better view of their foes. Yuliya turned back around and looked ahead. On the fractured road ahead of them were three very large men with sickly yellow-green skin, all hairless, standing at eight feet tall and far more bulky, muscular and brutish than any normal man. Any armour that the mutants wore was rusted pieces of scrap metal strapped to their bodies, leather and in some cases chains. The three before her carried makeshift weapons, two of them rifles made from piping and the other a large wooden board stamped with dozens of rusted nails. Yuliya watched as the super mutants roasted meat over a small campfire. Almost immediately, she caught sight of a small group of raiders running towards the super mutants from a distance. Yuliya looked behind her to see Anton, then to her right to spot Gareth and Benny. She whistled sharply and signalled once again for them to get down. Several cries and gunshots sounded as the raider gang attacked the super mutants by surprise. She observed with interest as a man and woman clad in rags, leather and scrap armour fired on the mutants while another ran forward with a lead pipe. The mutants tool several bullets and yelled in rage as they fired a hail of bullets back at them, taking no regard for their own safety. The raider with the lead pipe met the mutant with the nail board, which he quickly took into the side of his ribs as the mutant swung his weapon, knocking him several feet. The raider screamed in fear and then in pain as the super mutant walked over his body before ending his cries with a heavy stomp on the man's head, crushing his skull as if it were a grape and spewing blood and bone fragments across the road. Soon enough, the mutants returned to their campfire, dragging the three bodies with them. Yuliya stared in disgust as the mutants impaled one of the bodies on a spike which they stuck in the ground and then impaled the other two with thin metal poles before beginning to spit roast them, talking amongst themselves all the while. Yuliya trained her rifle on one of the super mutants, watching as they sat oblivious to their presence. Anton lay next to his sister and propped up his sniper rifle on his elbow by wrapping his around below it.

"I've got the one with the board." Yuliya said in a low voice. Anton shifted his rifle slightly, now aiming at a super mutant that was slowly turning the spit over the fire.

"If the other two aren't ready by now then they'll just have to watch…" said Anton, easing his breathing. He clicked off the safety and slowly calmed his mind. He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled just as slowly. He squeezed the trigger and the rifle kicked backwards, the blast kicking up dust as the bullet tore through the skull of a super mutant, ripping his head in half. Before the corpse could hit the ground, the mutant with the nail board was lit up by laser fire from both Yuliya and Benny, while the last super mutant took several hits from Gareth's gun. Within three seconds, three super mutants lay dead around the campfire, their corpses shredded and bloodied from gunfire.

Gareth approached the bodies, quickly inspecting each in turn to ensure that they were dead. Satisfied, he beckoned his team over so as to continue their mission. After the encounter, they moved towards Paradise Falls at a slower pace, maintaining a watchful eye on their surroundings at all times. Over the course of twenty minutes, Gareth's team made it through to the perimeter of the walled complex. Gareth looked with a keen eye at the set of buildings that surrounded the large statue of the boy holding an ice cream. The grey walls that surrounded the complex didn't appear to have any walkways for guard patrols or any other defenses as far as he could see. Slowly, Gareth and his team circled around the walls until they found an entrance in the western wall; a large set of double doors flanked by sandbags and cinderblock walls.

"There aren't any gate guards." stated Benny as his eyes flicked back and forth nervously.

"We should proceed with caution, my friend. They could be waiting for us inside." advised Anton.

Gareth nodded in acknowledgement, despite having already realising that possibility and moved out into the open in front of the gate. He walked forwards with heavy steps, his armour clanking and hydraulics working as his weight shifted continuously. The knight looked behind him to find his team sitting nervously behind the sandbags by the gate. He laughed at the sight and reached out to push open the large double doors. This was it, this was the point where he would truly test the limits of his armour. Gareth smiled as his confidence and faith in his suit grew. After taking a deep breath, he pushed the door wide open and entered with his laser rifle raised. Almost immediately, a torrent of bullets came at the knight. Gareth instinctively took a step back, but then stood his ground as the power armour bared the full force of the enemy. Gareth stood for a few seconds as bullet after bullet failed to harm him, looking at each of his foes individually. One of the raiders quickly fled from the steel terror then several others followed suit, disappearing into one of the buildings in the complex.

"Fight you fucking cowards! I'll kill you all for running!" roared one of the raiders, a large bearded man clad in thick scraps of iron plate.

Gareth finally took action and shot each of the raiders that hadn't fled, leaving the large man alive for the moment. As his comrades were shredded by Gareth's rifle, his face turned from chem fueled rage to a deathly fear. The man's eyes laid wide as he gazed upon the knight, eventually turning to run but stumbling as he did so, screaming. Gareth fired a quick shot at the man's leg, searing it clear off from his knee and sending the man flying forwards across the paved concrete. He approached the man as he cried in agony. The raider ceased his cries at his approach, instead shuffling away on his back as best he could.

"No no no, please don't kill me! Please don't-"

Gareth cut off the man's cries for mercy as planted a foot on his other leg, replacing them with ear splitting shrieks of excruciating agony. Gareth could feel his foot slowly sink down until his leg gave way, the bone and tissue being crushed as his foot struck concrete. The knight proceeded to plant the other foot onto the raider's stomach, the weight splitting into his gut, resulting in another incredible shriek of pain that was then cut off by the sickening sound of the man choking to death on his blood. After several seconds, the raider's limbs dropped, lifeless. Gareth came to his senses and removed his foot from the raider's stomach with a strong tug before wiping it against the floor. He turned see his team stood next to the gate.

"That was fucking awesome, man!" shouted Benny, blatantly awe-struck by the slaughter.

"It was both outright disgusting and foolhardy. This is NOT how a Brotherhood knight should act! Doing something like that again will get you killed, Gareth!" Yuliya spat and pushed past Benny, her eyes on Gareth like a hawk. Soon enough she stood just inches away from him, her face full of anger and disappointment.

"This sort of brutality is for the mutants and raiders, not the Brotherhood. We are above these scum, Gareth!" shouted Yuliya. She turned away and shook her head, "You're still just a child it seems. You don't deserve the rank of knight nor the right to lead!"

Gareth's heart weighed him down with feelings of guilt as he watched Yuliya storm out of Paradise Falls, pushing past Benny a second time. Gareth began to follow but held up his hand.

"Let her be for now, Gareth. Yuliya just...needs a little time to cool off in these situations," he walked past Gareth, patting his left pauldron as he did so, "she'll be back, don't worry."

Gareth looked at Benny who then approached him awkwardly.

"Look uh, let's just wrap this up and get out of here, yeah?" Benny said with a comforting smile.

"Yeah...sure." struggled Gareth, turning towards the other buildings. Paradise Falls appeared to be an old shopping strip, with two large buildings flanking the main road through, with a diner on the end of the road which housed the large ice cream boy statue. Gareth glanced to the building on the left and saw that the doors had been completely boarded over from the outside, leaving only the diner and building on the right to clear. Benny and Anton stood at either side of the double doors to the dilapidated structure while Gareth readied himself in the centre to open the doors and act as the shield of the team. He looked to each of his friends, who nodded in return. Reassured, Gareth kicked open the double doors and entered with his rifle raised yet again. As he charged in, he felt something strike him in the stomach and suddenly he couldn't move. The room they had entered was pitch black and now panic rose up in Gareth.

"Guys, my suit's locked!" he shouted into the darkness.

There was no answer.

"Benny? An-"

The knight was interrupted by the sudden turning on of all the lights, blinding him. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Gareth began to see several raiders aiming improvised weapons directly at him. Gareth tried his utmost to move but the suit simply would not move. He was trapped.

"That was an impressive display out there, knight." said a calm and articulate voice to his left. A figure walked out from the edge of his sight to face him directly. The man was dark skinned, clean and his hair was cut very short. He was clad in a weathered black leather coat and he hid his eyes with a set of dark sunglasses. Of what Gareth could see of the man's face, he was totally expressionless.

"What have you done to me? Where are my friends?" demanded Gareth with a growl.

The man stared at him, making little movement.

"I have paralysed your suit by cutting the power from your fusion core. Your friends are still behind you, albeit unconscious." he said, his voice nearly monotonous.

Gareth continued to struggle inside his power armour, trapped.

"So who the hell are you anyway?" demanded Gareth.

"I am merely an associate to the organisation that ambushed your mentor," he pulled off Gareth's helmet, looking directly into his eyes.

"Your 'Sentinel' may remember me…"


	7. Chapter VII

Pale light blinded him as Gareth's eyes flickered open. He found himself lying on a cold, steel floor wearing his Brotherhood jumpsuit. Gareth sat up, wincing, his body stiff and bruised. He was surrounded by rusted steel walls, a windowless room with a single door and not even a bed. He looked up to see a single fluorescent light illuminating the metal cell. Gareth attempted to stand but immediately fell back to his knees when a sharp pain shot through his right leg. His calf had been wrapped in bandages that were now coated with dried blood. Hesitantly, he unwrapped the bandage but quickly wrapped it back up when he saw his injury and it began bleeding again. Gareth coughed lightly and cursed. He couldn't remember being shot.

Gareth's heart stopped as the door slid open vertically with a loud hiss, a faint, musty light passing over a large silhouette. He shuffled backwards as the figure stepped into the light. The man was completely clad in some form of heavy armour; white plating similar in style to that of a T-60 suit of power armour but smaller, more advanced and streamlined. Cleaner. The only sound was the man's breathing through a helmet with blue eye sockets and his footsteps. This was no power armour that he had ever seen.

"Eat up." he said, placing a small bowl with a spoon on the cold floor, keep his eyes on Gareth at all times. The white soldier turned and left the room, the door sliding shut behind but not without Gareth catching a glimpse of something peculiar. Peaking out just under the plating of the man's armour were thin, dark red cables neatly lined on top of eachother. Why would a suit that clearly wasn't an exo-suit like the rest need so much electronics? Surely it would be light enough to move with a man's own strength?

Gareth slowly scrambled forward and looked at the bowl. A simple brown soup with several pieces of meat peaking out through the surface. He ate the soup with hesitation, wary of even why he was still alive. He grimaced with distaste at the revelation of it being almost freezing cold and gloopy, but carried on anyway. He would need to eat, especially as he was wounded. After a short while, Gareth put the bowl back onto the floor and gripped his stomach as he felt his body churn with the food.

"Perhaps rations aren't so bad…" he said to himself as he slowly got up, taking the weight off his leg as he leant against the wall left of the door. Feeling some measure of his strength returning, Gareth hobbled around the perimeter of the room to check for anything he could possibly use to help escape. There were two ventilation shafts at the back of the room, but they were far too narrow for a man to climb through. Dismayed, he slumped down against the wall opposite the door and sighed.

" _I hope the others are alright, they're probably in similar cells to this."_ he thought.

Gareth smirked at the realisation that Yuliya had left before their capture, then shook his head.

"Damned lucky I guess."

Gareth sat for what seemed like an eternity, blankly staring at the door on the other end, almost as if he were willing it to open. The matter was simple. He didn't know what he was being kept for, he didn't know why he was still alive, but he didn't intend to find out the way that they wanted. Escape was the only goal. Gareth narrowed his eyes and looked down in thought. There was no alternative other than the door ahead of him, but the lock was on the other side. Gareth stood up, gritting his teeth with the pain, and approached the door. He looked back and bit his lip. He knew he'd have to wait for the soldier to return, but then how could a wounded man with no weapons take down or get past a soldier like that? Gareth decided to bide his time and sat back down against the wall until sleep eventually took him.

Gareth awoke again just before the soldier reappeared with another bowl of soup, picking up the previous bowl. Gareth observed the soldier intently, analysing his movements and his armour. As the soldier turned to leave, he saw the red cables peaking out under the armour again, as well as several more lining his neck and travelling under the back of the helmet. Gareth stumbled to the door and picked up the bowl, bringing it back to the wall and began eating slowly. He didn't quite know what those red cables were for, but he felt that they were important.

The process of the soldier bringing soup carried on for what Gareth felt was several days. After the first day, each bowl of soup was also acompanied by a small clean bandage so that he could continue to mend his leg. Today however, whatever day that was, Gareth was going to make his move. Any longer and he would risk finally finding out why he was still alive.

The soldier opened the door and entered with another bowl of soup, bending down to place it on the floor. He stopped when he noticed that the bowl was untouched. Taking his opportunity, Gareth leapt at the soldier from behind and stabbed at the red cables along his neck with his spoon. He clambered onto his back after the first strike did not go through, rapidly stabbing into his neck with the spoon. The soldier screamed in horror when finally the cables split, spewing out a red liquid across Gareth and all over the floor. The soldier stumbled forward, desperately holding the back of his neck while Gareth backed away, unable to remove his gaze. The soldier dropped to the floor, still crying out as his body seemed to grow weaker. Finally the soldier stopped moving, his white armour coated in a layer of the red liquid. The smell of blood was overpowering and quickly forced Gareth to come to his senses and leave the room.

Gareth quietly exited into a corridor, giving him the option of either left or right. Quickly glancing in both directions, he trusted his gut and staggered down the right side. He tried his best to move quickly, keeping a hand against the wall to balance himself while keeping all of his senses on high alert. Nearing the end of the corridor, Gareth's mind suddenly become a buzz when he remembered his friends. He halted for a moment in quick contemplation, then hurried along. He was in no decent position to rescue them. He was wounded, defenseless and only armed with his insincts for any sense of direction. He didn't even know if he would be able to escape.

" _If I make it out of here, I'll be back with help. I promise both of you that."_

Gareth reached the end of the corridor and started up a set of stairs. He peaked his head up to the floor above and saw two soldiers, armoured like the first walking away from him down the corridor. Gareth glanced up and then back to the soldiers as he carried on to the next floor. The knight continued up, cautiously sneaking from floor to floor until the stairs ended. As Gareth had only travelled upward, he knew he had to be in one of either two places; the top floor, or the ground floor, depending on what sort of complex or facility he was inside. As of yet, he had seen no windows and only seen steel walls, soldiers, fluorescent lights and piping, so his guess was as good as anyone's. Gareth slowly edged forward, noticing that the passage he was moving down split off in different directions at certain points, either to more corridors or other rooms. All he needed was a way out.

Gareth's heart was pounding like a drum as he turned right again on the first split, still keeping his hand against the wall. Reaching the end of this corridor, he immediately turned left then right again. Gareth stopped when he stepped into a corridor that was wider than the rest, with a large sliding double door on one side. He looked opposite him and met the gaze of a patrolling soldier.

"Hold it!" he called out, raising a white plated rifle. Gareth quickly turned into the corridor and through the nearest door as a spray of bullets flew past him. He found himself in what looked like a mix between a control room and a small armoury, with monitors and shelves with various weapons laid out across them. A woman who was clad in a white protective suit and a small rebreather was staring at a collection of screens when Gareth burst through.

"Sorry but you can't just-" she shreaked in pain as Gareth repeatedly stabbed her in the neck with his spoon, leaving her gargling on blood before retreating into a different room. This one was similar to the last but held several lockers as well. Gareth quickly hid inside one of the lockers and tried to control his breathing, else it would betray his position if the soldier came through here. Gareth remained motionless for a while. The sudden lack of commotion was unnerving. The door opened and he could hear the woman still choking on her own fluids. Gradually the choking stopped and he heard faint footsteps against the steel floor, each several seconds apart.

"C'mon...I know you're in here…" whispered the soldier as he slowly moved past the locker. Gareth swallowed and braced himself, gripping the spoon once more. He rushed out of the locker and towards the soldier who span around immediately. Gareth dashed around the right side of the armoured man and hooked the spoon under the cables at the back of the neck, twisted and pulled back, arching the soldiers head untill the cables broke. Once more, Gareth watched as another of these white soldiers seemed to bleed to death from the tubes at the back of their necks. Rather than watch the entire ordeal, Gareth picked up the screaming man's rifle and went back into the control room, stepping over the lifeless figure of the woman and towards the collection of screens. He quickly glanced over the controls on the console below the screens and decided to push the largest button there. Almost immediately, he heard a loud hiss and then a grinding of metal. Gareth entered the large corridor again to find the double doors opening, pale light pouring through.

Hope filled Gareth's heart as he staggered towards the exit, a grin escaping his blood-stained visage. After passing through, he kept going as best as he could. He glanced behind him to see that he had just emerged from what appeared to be an underground bunker built into the base of a cliffside. It looked more like a ruin than anything else, a clever ruse for whatever sort of base it was supposed to be. Gareth continued on into the desolate wasteland, a vast expanse of dusty brown and dead trees lay before him. Wherever he was, he couldn't be far from the Capital Wasteland. Now several hundred metres away from the bunker, Gareth took one last look back at the ruin.

He would be back for them.

His friend's lives depended on it.


End file.
